


a voice inside me (beckons me to try again)

by ThatHydrokinetic



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Robin (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics)
Genre: Bruce is only mentioned, Gen, M/M, PLEASE DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE MCD TAG, damian dies. like, for jay's bday!!, he's fine dw, i hope you enjoy, i love you babe!!, this is a hades (2020) fusion, three times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27550795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatHydrokinetic/pseuds/ThatHydrokinetic
Summary: Damian is trying to get out of the underworld. Ra's is determined to not let that happen.It's only a matter of time.
Relationships: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	a voice inside me (beckons me to try again)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wisdom_walks_alone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdom_walks_alone/gifts).



> quick thanks to korey, mel, and cai for betaing! y'all are all royals you're amazing
> 
> quick character reference:  
> Damian - Zagreus  
> Mia Mizoguchi - Dusa  
> Dick - Achilles  
> Ra’s - Hades  
> Talia - Nyx  
> Jon - Thanatos  
> Steph - Hypnos  
> Tim - Athena  
> Jason - Ares  
> Babs - Artemis  
> Maya Ducard - Megaera

As the club digs into Damian’s back, all he can feel is frustration. As the heat from a brimstone laser finally kills him, all he can think is _damn, not again._

Stephanie is going to be insufferable.

**

“You got killed by a rock!” Stephanie crows, seated in Grandfather’s entryway. The procession of shades was disrupted by Damian’s appearance, and now they stand, scattered, around them, whispering to themselves. 

Damian wipes some of the River Styx out of his eyes. He’s still dripping, and he takes a passing moment to apologize to Mia for the mess. “It had lasers.”

“Back again, I see,” Grandfather says from just down the hall, and Damian takes a steadying breath. Stephanie looks at him with something that might be sympathy, but he just sneers at her before spinning on his heels and continuing down the hall.

“I see that you didn’t even make it to the Phlegethon, Grandson,” Ra’s says, not even looking up at the papers stacked across his desk. “Have you thought better of this fool’s errand?”

“Merely needed a rest,” Damian says, diverting his attention to Cerberus, who perks up immediately at his gaze. “Have you been behaving, boy?”

“I do not know what you hope to accomplish,” Ra’s continues. “If your father had wanted to see you, he would not have left.”

Damian’s hand clenches in Cerberus’ bright red fur, but he smooths it out with a whispered apology. One wet nose digs into his side, and he coos quietly before leaving Cerberus to the rest of his meal.

Richard stands where he usually does, leaning heavy against his spear next to the great hall. When he spots Damian, he straightens and smiles, which is such an absurd reaction to Damian’s mere presence.

“Hey, Dami,” Richard says. “You did well.”

“No, I didn’t,” Damian says. “I didn’t even make it out of Tartarus that time.”

“Depriving Maya of an excuse to kill you again.” He smiles a little, leaning against the wall behind him. “You were using an entirely new weapon. You made it an impressive distance, for that.”

It’s not untrue; the shield is terribly clunky. “Thank you,” he says, even if disappointment is still a bitter taste on the back of his mouth.

Richard must be able to tell, because he leans forward a bit with a crooked smile. “Don’t listen to the old man out there. I knew your father, before he left. He’ll be proud of you, once you get out of here.”

His certainty is a bit too much for Damian to stomach; he nods and turns, stalking further back into the house. He meets his mother just outside the door to his room, night seeking out the edges of her frame, tall and regal as always.

“Damian, my son,” Talia says, reaching for him. Her nails claw into his arms. “How far did you make it?”

“I will do better next time,” he tells her.

“Of that, I have no doubt. Remember, I have prepared you for this. Do not let me down.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

**

Damian goes back to his Stygian sword this time, setting Aegis to the side.

When he steps foot into Tartarus, the only bright light is coming from a message from Tim. It glows bright golden, the image of a shield emblazoned on the front. Tim, while annoying, tends to be one of the more helpful of the gods, when he deigns to send it. It is a begrudging fact, but one that Damian will admit.

_“Your father is kind to me,”_ reads Tim’s message. _“Although I doubt you will be impressive, I find your cause worthy, I suppose.”_

“Glad you sacrificed your time, then,” Damian says bitterly, even though Tim can’t hear him from all the way up in Olympus. Despite Tim’s attitude, though, Damian can’t help but feel a bit grateful when he swings his sword and a protective circle of shields burst up around him. 

He makes it to the gates into Asphodel, this time. Maya stands in front of the gate, knives flashing, form already flickering in and out of sight.

“Hello, Maya,” Damian says. “I don’t suppose you’ll just let me through?”

Maya just blows him a kiss before lunging at him.

He makes it past her and out of Tartarus, but spends a second too long in the flaming waters of Phlegethon that he’s sent right back home. 

**

“Was my father kind?” Damian asks Richard, pretending that he can’t hear the echoes of Steph’s laughter from the main hall.

Richard takes a moment to think. “He was stern. Determined to make it back to the surface, much like you. But he treated me like a son, although he didn’t have to.” He then leans forward, even though the only ones around them are the wandering shades who only gossip amongst themselves. “Your mother won’t tell you this,” he whispers. “But he didn’t know about you, when he left. I don’t think he could’ve abandoned you, if he’d known.”

**

_“Keep fighting out there, kid,”_ says Jason. _“War’s supposed to be bloody.”_

**

Elysium is beautiful. Teal grass, frothy, white water from the river Lethe. The archers are a bitch, though—Damian finds himself heaving before he’s even halfway through.

There, he runs into Jon.

His first thought is, bizarrely, what Barbara had told him just a few chambers ago— _“I may not run with my hunt anymore,”_ she’d said. _“But I know that even gods need support.”_

“Dami!” Jon says when he sees him, arms spread wide. “It’s been a while!”

Damian allows himself a count of _one, two, three_ before stepping out of Jon’s embrace. “Grandfather made you stop me, as well? I encourage you to try.”

Somewhere, a gong echoes. “Oh, come on, Dami,” Jon says. “I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to help you. Up for a little competition?”

Despite everything, a grin carves its way across Damian’s face. “Only if you’re ready to lose.”

**

Damian doesn’t know how many times, now, he’s dragged himself out of the pool of Styx at the front of his grandfather’s house. What he does know, however, is that he’d do it again. Despite knowing that he’s failed, once again; that he’s standing damp under the dim red lights of the underworld; that he’s frustrated and tired and gods only know what everyone thinks of him now, the useless son of an absent god who can’t even make it out of a single domain—

Despite all of this, Damian only grits his teeth and goes to greet Stephanie, who has managed to fall asleep sometime during his last escape attempt. Cerberus, at the back of the hall, thumps his tail.

This was not Damian’s first failed escape attempt, and it probably won’t be his last. But he is going to try again. He is always going to try again.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, shoutout to [mel,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterpiperparker/pseuds/peterpiperparker) [korey,](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerbutstillhere) and [cai!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualoftheblade/pseuds/bisexualoftheblade)
> 
> Jay, I hope you have a great birthday. You've been such a good friend to me this year, and I'm honored to be your friend. You're going to do amazing things!


End file.
